Second Sunday in Lent

In the Bible reading this week we have a perfect fusion of both bravery and tenderness.  Some Pharisees came to warn Jesus that King Herod was out to kill him.  It is an extraordinary story because it clearly shows that some of the Pharisees were on Jesus’ side.  Jesus’ reply is equally remarkable.  He publicly calls King Herod a fox.  For the Jew, the fox was considered a worthless and destructive animal.  For Jesus, the only king he sought to please was the King of Kings.  But the story also shows Jesus’ tenderness.  Jesus says about Jerusalem, “How often I wanted to gather together your children as a hen gathers her brood under her wings.”  This tends to indicate that Jesus made many visits to Jerusalem before this point in his ministry and yet the synoptic Gospels do not record them.  Once again, we are made aware that in the Gospels we have the merest sketch of Jesus’ life.  It is a remarkable life of such great passion, love, courage and bravery.  As we journey through Lent, it is worth forgoing all the world’s values of coercion, destruction and selfishness to focus on the person of Jesus who encapsulates courage, bravery and tenderness.